It's been a moving and energising start to our eCaravan #nonviolentcommunication event! Didn't make it this time? Find out more here https://t.co/tgwvGxb7BM
Two questions were in me:
- What happens to people to lead them to enjoy and want to contribute to other people's suffering?
- What happens to human beings so that we stay with the process of compassion where we enjoy contributing to each other well being?
If we are skilled at nonviolent communication we can loan our nonviolent communication skills, we can loan our empathy skills by helping each side translate their criticism or judgments of the other into their needs, and then helping the other side to hear it.
We yell at students because our teachers yelled at us, and they yelled at us because their teachers yelled at them, and so on; the cultural inertia of habit makes the vicious cycle of violence difficult to break and transform. #sociocracy#sociocracyforall
Many of us carry around very destructive strategies for getting our basic needs met.
Strategies that are destructive, first of all, because they're not possible, or secondly because they deny the needs of the other person, and require the other person be subservient to us.
"We aren’t there to tone-police anyone, but we are there to be that intentional presence in the street — to shift that energy and de-escalate unhealthy conflict before there is violence to prevent harm.” https://t.co/bsz0BGz234
- We don’t have time for dialogue. These Circles take too long!
- How long have you been in painful conflict?
- Oh we’ve been like this - either full out war or refusing to talk to each other - for 3 years now
Been hearing this said, without irony, for 25 years. & again today.
Audre Lorde, renowned poet, writer & activist, utilized her voice to advocate fearlessly for oppressed people, including women, people of color, and queer folx. Self-care can be a revolutionary act, esp when the structures of society don't value who we are. #BlackHistoryMonth